Dirtwire.tv Features Junior Spencer Petrov #cxnats

That Happened: A Wknd w/Legend Paul Curley

Tsali, our cat (named after the 2^nd best mountain bike trail in the world) is on my chest.  I’m pinned down like he owns me.  He knows I’m not moving.  A human kitty bed, I drift in and out of sleep. I finally caved after a weekend of cycling goodness.  Periodically I hear the hostess at Eli’s BBQ a few blocks from our house announce over the PA that someone’s food is ready.  The blinds are drawn.  The ceiling fan spins.  The cool leather couch soothes my slightly sun parched skin.  I would spend the next ten hours like this.  I showered, made a giant vegan protein smoothie with frozen berries, the cat saw his opportunity and I succumbed.  At 8:30pm, I got up to buy a six pack of Bells Two Hearted at my wife’s request.  The dude abides.  The Bells was a cool reward for her MS150 and my impromptu weekend riding with cyclocross legend Paul Curley and friends. 

Paul Curley hand-slung me.  Wha?  Huh?  The multi-year Cyclocross 55+ Masters National Champion joined us on the BioWheels bike shop Saturday Morning Beatdown.  He was in the Cincinnati area visiting family and called the shop to find an area ride.  With gray hair peeking from his helmet, stars on his shorts and an old Verge CX series jersey, he pedaled stoutly on his small black Cannondale.  His skin looks a bit weathered.  His stocky legs have seen a million miles.  I flicked my elbow.  He pulled through.  He can still pull his weight on the local racer ride.  He rode smart, doing work when he could, sitting on when prudent.  Periodically, like with any guest on the ride, I’d pull even and give him heads up about a particularly nasty stretch of road, an upcoming hill, or wicked descent. 

A Track Hand Sling

On a rough winding farm road in Cincinnati’s Little Miami River Valley, a rider punctured in front of Paul and me.  I coasted back to make sure the rider had what he needed for the fix.  He waved me onward.  Looking back and seeing me trying to bridge my way back up, Paul, the seasoned vet, drifted slightly off the back of the speeding bunch and extended a hand.  “Is this really about to happen,” I thought.  With a thumb up and the back of his hand facing me, this wasn’t going to be a handshake.  This was a straight up Madison style hand sling.  I took a few hard pedal strokes.  With my left hand, I grabbed firm and he hand-slinged me within reach of an easy catch.  He jumped in my slipstream.  The group slowed slightly through a corner and we were both back on.  I get goosebumps thinking about it.  Yes.  That happened, a legendary experience with a legend.  I never expected to ride with him again. 

“Is that Paul Curley?  It is!”  JBV Coach Chris Mayhew was wrapped up in the garage right up until the moment the group rolled out of Loveland.  I was invited on this Sunday ride along with other clients and friends of the JBV coaches who held a clinic the day before.  Chris, maybe too busy with coffee, didn’t catch that Paul’s sprinter type van was parked down the street.  Paul had been planning on doing a nearby race.  It was cancelled at the last minute, so he decided to join us.  It wasn’t until we were rolling through the tunnel of trees of the Little Miami bike path that Chris pulled off the front, only to have Paul roll by on his right.  I was no-handed on the back tucking my arm warmers into my pocket and saw Chris’ double take first hand. 

The genuine excitement was priceless.  The phone came out.  There was a pat on the back, smiles, maybe a tongue in cheek muttering of “go back to the front I’m just a washed up old man,” and a moment was made.  Later, Paul asked me what I did for a living.  I mentioned we had met once before mud covered in the pits at the Masters Cyclocross World Championships in Louisville two years ago.  He was just one of the bunch yesterday.  We traded pulls up the long climb into Devou Park.  To my left sat my teammate Jason, to my right cross legend Paul Curley.  Surrounded by friends and clients of JBV coaching, the Cincinnati Skyline framed a scenic 4 hour 70 mile Sunday ride.  If I had a bucket list, this would’ve been on it.  However, sometimes it’s just as fun to make the most of opportunity and write the list as you go through life.  It seems to work for Paul.

OVCX 2012 Schedule: Ohio Valley to Worlds

Series Art by James Billiter

With the UCI Elite and Masters World Championships coming to Louisville Jan/Feb 2013, organizers of the 9th Annual Zipp OVCX Series are proud to announce an exciting, expanded schedule for 2012.  (See schedule below or at OVCX.com.)

This year's OVCX encompasses 13 events that tour through the cyclocross scenes of Indianapolis, Bloomington, Dayton, Lexington, Cincinnati and Louisville.  Kicking off September 16th, this year’s OVCX series begins with Huber's Apple Cross in Starlight, IN - just north of Louisville. The series winds up 3 months later in mid-December with the series finale at the Major Taylor Velodrome in Indianapolis.


The schedule offers pockets for area USGP events and a great springboard for those with aspirations for the Chicago CX Cup, Nationals, Kings Invitational and Worlds in January.  Those dates also listed below.

The Cincy3 Cyclocross Festival makes its return to the OVCX series with Devou Park, Harbin Park, and the new Saturday night Elite/Pro races under the lights at Kings CX.  8 other venues link the cities of Dayton and Cincinnati in Ohio, Indianapolis and Bloomington in Indiana, and Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky.  The geographic layout of the series puts most venues within an easy two hour drive for most participants. 

Racers Battle the Mud at Kings CX Cincinnati

The 2012 series aims to be more work, family and travel friendly.  (See video at right or click here.)  Aside from the Cincy3 weekend, participants will see only one race per weekend on the schedule.  As in previous years, your best seven races count toward the series overall title making it easy to compete and have fun.  The OVCX series is committed to being a vehicle in developing young talent and will again offer numerous categories for juniors aged 10 to 18 and an under 19 category in elite races.  Chip timing will be again at each event to provide quick results and submission to USA Cycling for national ranking points.  Full series rules and categories will be posted to OVCX.com by mid-June.

So get your gear and cowbells warmed up and ready - we're in for a season to remember!

2012 OVCX Calendar:

Date:       Venue                                         Location                     

Sept 16    Huber's Apple Cross (NEW!)       Louisville       

Sept 30    St. Mary’s Cyclocross                  Indianapolis

Oct 7       Midwest Outdoor Exp. (Gearfest) Dayton                       

Oct 14     Gun Club Cross                            Cincinnati                   

Oct 21     Bloomingcross                              Bloomington  

Oct 28     Storm the Greens                          Louisville                   

Nov 2      Cincy3 (Devou, Kings, Harbin)     Cincinnati                   

Nov 18    Promotion Cross                           Lexington                   

Nov 25    Brookside Cup                              Indianapolis               

Dec 9      Buckingham Financial John Bryan   Dayton           

Dec 16    Major Taylor Velodrome (NEW)   Indianapolis    


NON OVCX Dates To Note:
Sept 8    Lionhearts CX                                Cincinnati
Sept 15  Hubers Apple CX Day 1                Louisville
Sept 22  USGP Madison Day 1                   Madison, WI
Sept 23  USGP Madison Day 2                   Madison, WI
Nov 10  USGP Louisville Day 1                   Louisville
Nov 11  USGP Louisville Day 2                   Louisville
Jan 5      Chicago CX Cup Day 1                 Chicago, IL
Jan 6      Chicago CX Cup Day 2                 Chicago, IL
1/10-13 National Championships                 Madison, WI
Jan 26    Kings CX Invitational UCI             Cincinnati
1/30-2/3 World Championships                   Louisville

#Sub9DeathMarch BioTrain™ Derailment

Special Thanks to Hydrapak

You can’t cheat death, unless you ride with a friend who knows the Heimlich maneuver or carry a backpack defibrillator.  Judging from the size of some hydration packs Saturday, maybe some were prepared for anything.  Consequently, as team Grand Poobah of the BioWheels/Reece-Campbell Racing Death Squad, I’m beginning to rethink the BioTrain™ approach to the Sub-9 Deathmarch race in Hoosier Nat’l Forest.  Last year the BioTrain™ stoked fear in the leaders as we passed like an 8 man bobsled.  This year the BioTrain™ was as imposing as the matinee performance of “Thomas the Train” at US Bank Arena.  Three flats, a broken spoke, two wipe-outs, and a missed turn dashed our 2012 Deathmarch dreams.  For full 2012 Sub-9 Death March results click here.

Last year the BioTrain™ proved somewhat successful on both fronts.  Our 8 man gravel-singletrack-pavement eating paceline placed in the top 12 or so and gelled our team around a common goal.  This year we had fun, but only the duo of James Biliter and Nate Mirus who were driving the train at the time of the 2^nd derailment, had any success.  Being strung out and regrouping after my flat on lower Combs road, a mile later the BioTrain™ came off the rails at the gate.  Dan flatted, our 2^nd of the day less than four miles from the start.  Being driven by ADD, testosterone and adrenalin, Nate and Jimmy never heard the 2^nd call of a flat.  The train of eight was now 2 and 6.  Despite soft pedaling on the front and hair raising riding from the rear it would never be recoupled.

A few loose rules guide the BioTrain™.  1) The train stays together until the last cemetery, Fleetwood, about eight-tenths of a mile from camp where the all-out death sprint between BioWheels/Reece-Campbell racing teams commences.  2) If one gets a flat or mechanical, we all stop.  The thinking is, the bunch will ride faster than a duo and it’s more fun to ride in a bunch.  3) The BioTrain™ is not perfect.  Rule #2 is subject to cases of the very contagious ailments of Multipleflattus, Gappingthegroupus and various hearing impairments.

Who's Got New Pearl Izumi Shoes?  This guy!

On the fun front however, the BioTrain™ is a Billboard Top 100 hit with a bullet.  Had we rode the race in pairs, the guys would’ve missed my teammate Dan Pike’s mesmerizing 40rpm cadence in a gear that would make Jens Voigt and Fabian Cancellera curl up in fetal positions rocking in the corner sucking each other's thumbs in fear.  Dan may appear to be 5’ 1” and 160lbs, but it’s all quads and hammies, baby got back.

Like a NASCAR Replay, right now all the guys are remembering the BioTrainWreck™.   Driving the train on the Nebo Trail between Elkinsville and Berry Road, still in attempt to close the gap to our two teammates a few minutes up the trail, Brian Colliers clipped a buried log right in front of me, sending him over the bars.  He didn’t stop tumbling through the briars till everyone and the caboose passed him.

Slim Jim Hand-Ups In Effect

If it weren’t for Jason Mott’s suggestion that we ask for a tin snips the next time we see the Sub-9 Scooby Doo van, I may have suffered a bit more than a severely out of true wheel and an inoperable rear brake for the last 30 miles of the race.  I broke a spoke after Robinson and had open wheel surgery just 2.5 miles later at the fire tower.  As he snipped the dangling rattling spoke, my vegan self discovered the next best thing to GU energy gels, Slim Jim’s.  Survival mode.

Had Dan and I been solo, I would’ve missed Steven Gers bedrock cracking wreck in my rearview.  On trail 14, enroute to Calahan Cemetery, like a 145 pound sandbag dropped from hot-air balloon, he hit a buried log and augured himself into the ground with a singular whomp, followed by a silence so profound you could hear the frogs croaking five miles away at Coronette Cemetery.

If you think you're fast changing a flat, imagine three guys changing a flat.  Like the “athletes” in a NASCAR pit crew, with brain surgeon precision, they danced around my bike.  While I, the flatter, dug out my spare tube, the wheel guy pulled out the old tube while the air-guy dug out a cartridge.  I handed the new tube to the air guy, who aired it up a bit and passed it to the wheel-guy.  As I stuffed the spent tube into a pocket, the wheel-guy held the tire while the air-guy finished it off.  It came together and we were riding again in three minutes.  Sometimes three heads are better than two.

If it wasn’t for Kris “Karwash’s” flat on Polk Patch which was perfectly timed with our entire bunch bombing downhill and overshooting Trail 14, we wouldn’t have had the 10 minutes for a few of us to turn around, take a natural break and..."Oh, look there it is!"...stumble upon the trail.

You know what?  On second thought, after looking at the pictures of two grown men who look like kids playing in the woods, maybe we did win.

#CXnats Elite Podiums Won in the Pits

Everyday I'm Pamperin'

While you may have watched the live streaming video or followed #cxnats on Twitter, you missed a few things at the Elite Cyclocross National Championship Races in Madison, WI on Sunday.  For one, you missed this dude in the diaper with a cooler full of cold ones and a RoadID on his wrist.  You also missed the details that made the difference for Antonneau and Powers.


The CX Nats pit was small, crowded, inadequately spaced and tough on entry/exit.  While pits are usually crowded during top level races, the pit at CX Nats was one tough mooglie for riders and mechanics.  For wrenches, it was hard to get to the race lane.  Many places were 3 people/bikes deep as mechanics tried to get out to the race lane. Coming from a background setting up pits for UCI events in Cincinnati, they needed more width and more depth.  For riders, the entrances, exits, and race lanes were bumpy and rutted.  Add in the technical turn preceeding Pit #1 and it was a mix that rewarded perfection from crew and rider and spelled disaster for those that bobbled.  

Women's Race-Antonneau's Recovery

Antonneau running her bike after early mishap

While Meredith Miller took the hole shot, Compton stomped on the pedals and built a gap of almost 5 seconds within 4 turns of the start. With the sketchy descents and rutted mud that was still half frozen, you could see on her face that she wasn't willing to take any risks today and simply wanted to run in clean air.  Game over.  The race was on for 2nd.  While the cameras followed Compton, there was a huge battle behind. Antonneau, Duke, Miller, Butler, Stetson-Lee, Bruno Roy, and Rivera were all in place and chasing each other down back and forth the whole day. By now we all know that Antonneau was 2nd on the day for the Elites after winning the U23 race.  What you don't know is the pits played a pivotal role in her podium.

On the second time through the technical turn immediately preceding Pit 1, Antonneau was in 3rd place behind Duke and Compton. She was looking pretty comfy, but navigating the tight technical turn she slipped and fell. The crowd heard a very distinct SNAP!  The sound that makes your heart sink.  She snapped a spoke on her Zipp.

Kaitie got up, tried to remount and quickly realized the damage.  She immediately ran the few steps into the pits and retrieved a new bike. If the spoke had snapped a bit later, as happens a lot, it would have been day over for Antonneau. Running after the pits back around to the pits again would have been disaster, a feat Olympian Usain Bolt couldn't pull off.  Luck was on her side and a good crew always at the ready with a fresh ride.  

Dylan McNicholas drills the hole shot

Men's Race-Powers Attack

Watching the men's race was edge of your pit-bucket excitement for the whole hour.  From the coverage you didn't see that it was Pit 1 that made the difference in the men's elite race as well. It played out like this.  Page would pit every time through Pit 1 and take a clean bike. Powers and/or Trebon would punch it past the pits, choosing to not take a clean bike and put some distance on Page.  Page would power out of the pits and catch back on before the stairs.  Powers attacks here proved to be the difference.  

Page on the bumpy exit from Pit 2

If you remember from the Women's race, the technical turn preceding Pit 1was incredibly difficult.  There was almost always a shuffling of racers in this particular spot.  Even Tim Johnson choose to run this section several times due to the difficult ruts and awkward lines into and out of this section. If you missed the line exiting this technical turn, getting to the pit lane to change bikes was really hard.

Nearly every lap we'd see Page attack heading into the technical corner, clean the corner and head straight for the pits. He'd swap bikes and by the time he exited the pits he would be almost right on Powers' or Trebon's wheel. 

Leaders hit the climb on Lap 1

The difference came on the next to last lap. Powers knew this was occurring every single lap.  He pushed the pace heading into the technical corner which forced Page to navigate the corner in traffic with Trebon and McDonald. Exiting from the technical corner, Page and McDonald bumped each other, then bumped each other again. Page was stuck on the left side of McDonald (Powers' Rapha-Focus teammate) and the pit entrance was on the right side. Page had to nearly ride through McDonald to get to the pit lane to swap bikes.

Obviously Page was hell bent on getting a fresh bike.  Doing so he was forced to bump and rub McDonald twice, slow down, ride across the rough ruts in front of McDonald and get into the pits. Right there, Powers smelled blood and put 8 seconds on Page as he exited the pits.  

Powers driving the pace with Page following

Whether this was planned team tactics or luck, it worked to perfection for Powers. Once Page was chasing he didn't take a clean bike on the last lap trying to catch back on, but the gap created at the entrance to Pit 1 never changed through the end of the race.  The rest is history.  

Had that exit from the technical turn and the entrance to Pit 1 been less bumpy and more roomy the final two laps of the race might have gone down differently. Kudos to Powers for knowing where and when to attack the race - whether it was his spidey senses or just plain luck, it worked.

Sub-9 Death March: Don’t Drink From The Cemetery Well

It finally struck me.  We’re visiting cemeteries on the Sub-9 Death March Race, March 12^th in Indiana’s Hoosier National Forest, cemeteries with real dead people, headstones, crosses, and family history, former farmers and loggers, fathers, mothers, daughters and sons.  It reminded me of my grandmother's funeral last week.

At first we got wrapped up in the fastest way to get from one cemetery to another, researching GPS, Google Maps and every area map we could get our hands on.  We talked tires and bikes and water and tools.  Then, while looking for an online trail map, I saw a link for a genealogy website listing one of the cemeteries on the Death March.   I clicked.

Maybe I shouldn’t have.  One week ago, I was at a cemetery in a suit and tie carrying a casket, my first time as a pallbearer.  It was heavier than I thought and while using a lot of strength, I tried to be as quiet and gentle as possible pulling it out of the funeral coach.  It made me think twice about the race.  The website listed all the names and dates of the readable markers in the cemetery, some dating back to 1833.  Just think, 180 years ago, someone just like me laid their loved ones to rest at Mitchell Cemetery, one of the handful of historic Indiana cemeteries of the Sub-9 Death March.

As I thought about it more, it’s probably not wise to come flying into a cemetery at 20 miles an hour, lock up the brakes, dump the bikes on the ground, scream to your teammate “there’s the sign” and go running full bore to snap a photo. 

So here are some rules I came across to keep the spirits on your side during the Death March: 

1) Running is not appropriate at the cemetery, neither is laying on the ground to stretch, jumping up and down to get the feeling back in your toes, or eeking out that fart that’s been pent up for the last hour in your chamois.

2) Soft voices should be used.  Also, it’s probably not cool to use expletives or the word “holy” in conjunction with any other word at a cemetery, such as, “holy (blank) I’m (expletive) tired.”

3) Gravestones, markers, plants, crosses are special sacred symbols that represent respect for the dead.  Walk around them, otherwise a boney hand may come out of the soil and pull you under.

4) While I have found no proof of it, as childhood memory serves, you should hold your breath while passing a cemetery so the spirits don’t take over your soul.

5) To take some of the creepiness away from the situation of being surrounded by 180 year old corpses, take a second to contemplate the lives of the people at the cemetery.  They were just like you once, only with a much heavier wooden wheeled bike.

6) As an added bonus, while I can't confirm any of the cemeteries of the Death March have one, I found out that some cemeteries have a well so that visitors can water the plants and flowers that mark the graves.  However, I will not be drinking any well water from underneath a cemetery.

The Road To CX Nat's 2010: A Trip In FB Status Updates

It's a big truck-stop sized can of beef jerky or 2267.52 Miles from Cincinnati's Fountain Square to Bend, OR. Our correspondents Corey, Gregg and John have made the drive.  Non-freaking-stop!  Today is packet pick-up day at Cyclocross Nationals. Tomorrow our boys will tow the line for the time trial to determine starting position. As it appeared on Facebook, here's their trip in status updates:

The Packing Has Begun (photo inside of bike trailer)


(Sunday 6:02pm)
And off we go 6:02pm start (from last OVCX race Sunday in Indianapolis)


Corey pulled out with the e-brake on and then popped the hood rather than releasing the brake. Oops.

(Sunday 10:52pm)
Gonna see a lot of this tonight.


5 Hour Report: Gilson, IL - 245 miles. Avg Dist per hour: 49 miles.


Corey was at Kum & Go with Gregg


Confucious say: "To go fast, you must first go slow." Confucious had to have been pulling a trailer.

Over the Missouri River and into Omaha, NE. Looking for one of those trucks selling steaks.


(Monday 6:49am)
I swear the same convenience store clerk is working the last three stations we have stopped at through Iowa and Nebraska.


Gregg: "There's no snow in Nebraska." Corey: The wind blew all the snow to Iowa.


(Monday 9:06am)
15 Hour Report: I-80 Giltner, NE population 399. 853 Miles covered so far.


19 Hours in the car and the conversation and concern starts to turn to diet and the potential crop dusting impact.


Wyoming - Home of tough men, cold temps, wind and snow. Actually it's 48 degrees and sunny. Sensing a fraud.

(Monday 7:04pm)
Sixty miles until we cross the Continental Divide. 24 Hours and 1208 miles.


Corey: was at Applebees Neighborhood Bar & Grill in Rock Springs, WY

Gregg recieves quick education on the origination of Rocky Mountain Oysters, aka "Cowboy Caviar" or "Montana Tendergroins."

(Monday 10:12pm)
What Halfway looks like. Heading into the final night of the drive. 28 hours...1363 miles...162 gallons of gas.


Our CX Nat's Reporters are in Wyoming. What song should be stuck in their heads?


(Tuesday 1:08am)
"That was a courtesy! I did a pants shake and everything!"


Warning: Applebees's Cowboy Burger causes intense snoring.

3am, Twin Falls, ID = "Paradise?"

Everything he touches turns to broken. Gregg has now broken multiple devices owned by others.


(Tuesday 11am)
39 Hour Update: 1891 miles, 205 gallons and only 250 more miles to Bend. Only one more fill up required.

We have reached Oregon, and PST. Now to finish things off and get to Bend.


When in doubt follow the salt truck.


(Editor Note: as of 2:00pm Eastern Time, we have not heard a confirmation of arrival.  Hopefully that salt truck didn't steer them the wrong way.  How clever...a frickin' cliff hanger.)


Update- Text received - "Did you check the air in the spare tire (the trailer spare)?"...flat 195 miles out..." Hopefully our 3 heroes will re-surface soon.


Stay tuned...

Tough Juniors, Disc Wheels and Sasquatch: CX Nationals 2009

A Sasquatch Sighting, Juniors and more on CX Discs Guest Blogger Corey Green of Cincinnati reports from the 2009 Cyclocross Nationals in Bend, OR:

Either their bones are made of rubber or these juniors are tough. Cyclocross Nationals, solid ice course, temperatures around 15 degrees, kids falling all over the course, yet somehow they stick to it and get it done. I was supporting three kids this week - two in the juniors women 13-14 and one in the juniors men 10-12.

Mackenzie Green and Rachel Dobrozsi picked up 10th and 7th in their 8am race and Spencer Petrov picked up a podium spot in 3rd for the men 10-12. Two of these three didn't even know what a cyclocross bike was in August, all of them made some adults I know look like real wimps.

Give these kids a hand - they earned it today.

A day like today makes me wonder how many of us would really do it? Some Masters aged racers would seriously start thinking about hips and knees and "what if" scenarios. In 15 degrees, fully iced/snowy course? The wait at callups alone would be enough to make most of us reconsider our decision. Kids with 5% body fat and zero insulation racing at 8am, while Mr Husky with a painted-on skinsuit and enough insulation to stoke an average Alaskan heating stove for a month is racing at 2pm at the peak temperature. Something there doesn't seem right.

Is USA cycling trying to toughen up the youngest we have for racing in Belgium at a later age? Could it be that with the number of breweries in town (more than I have ever seen in a town of 80k) the only racers they could get at 8am are those too young to drink? Maybe the fact that the beer garden opens at 8am (and Deschutes is OH SO YUMMY) scared the organizers into adjusting the schedule to keep some away until later.

But then I saw Spencer with his medal. It wasn't gold, but he didn't care. He had won and got to stand on a podium at a national level race. All the kids forgot they were cold, forgot the pain that they had endured that morning. Those that were on the podium were flying sky high, those that were watching the podium were day dreaming about being on the podium. They were all hooked and my daughter said it best - "Dad, we will be back next year". She wasn't asking she was telling.

Lighter News - Cross Disk Update

The disk discovery by Joe when he read my draft was interesting. I hadn't read his editors note before today and I discovered that there is a WHOLE TEAM of people riding covered spoke wheels. For the life of me I can't really figure this one out. I am relatively sure that if I were to have used one of these it would look like a wheel of swiss cheese and make a lot of whistling noise as I rode around the track. My goal tomorrow is to find someone on one of these and get the scoop. I will write about it if I can find someone - stay tuned.

Messin' With Sasquatch

In a story that US Weekly would clamour for, it appears that Sasquatch has regained the trust of his mess of friends. He was photographed watching cyclocross, eating Bratwursts and sucking down Deschutes. The rare sasquatch was caught on camera heading to the wall of port-o-lets, walking eerily with the same gait as the guy next to him. Whether these two know each other or not I will never know, but look for them together in the next production of "A Chorus Line" at the local playhouse in Bend, OR.

For USAC Results and Photos click here.

Happy Farmer Tan Day

The first week in June is when my farmer tan reaches its prime, when the contrast between my wedding dress white shoulders and Starbucks light roast brown arms causes non-cyclists to point and laugh. The Best Bike Blog Ever today hereby rolls up its short-pants to reveal the border between Pasteville and Tantown and proudly proclaims June 9^th Farmer Tan Day. Today’s the day to stop cowering in a fetal position on the sofa afraid to go out in public, and show off your well earned stripes.

In my early cycling days, I used to be embarrassed about the farmer tan, going so far as to wear a surfer shirt at the pool on vacations. Nowadays, maybe because my youthful quest to look buff has been overshadowed by a middle aged mission to race bicycles, not so much. Instead I revel in the achievement of cycling enough hours to make my arm freckles look like potting soil scattered across Moab slick rock.

However before you go around shocking your coworkers, please note that today is Farmer Tan Day and not freak hand tan day. Unless you’ve somehow been able to cover you entire body in cool polka dots to match the ones the glove hole made on your hands, it’s nearly impossible to rock a freak hand tan. Please, put your hands in your pockets or draw a smiley face on your tan hand freak dot till you can go for a ride sans gloves. The Best Bike Blog Ever has no appreciation for that horrific malady. Mercy will only be bestowed upon those who braved a log hot ride on a sun filled sweat soaked muggy day or a ride where gloves were an absolute necessity.

That said; rejoice in your spectacular stripes that no amount of SPF can strip. Grab yourself a Farmer Tan Red Ale and celebrate the sight of your righteous rice-white skin shorts. You earned it. Happy Farmer Tan Day. Now put on a freaking’ shirt for Pete’s sake! Farmer Tan Day is a holiday best celebrated alone.

101 Reasons I'm Looking Forward To Mohican 100

(The following is more or less a re-run from an earlier post, but riding comes before blogging.  I've got three days to squeeze in 5 days of work and to pack and finish cleaning/tweaking my bike for Mohican 100 '09 this weekend.  Enjoy and thanks for reading.)

I shared a beer with Floyd Landis last year at the Mohican 100 in Loudonville Ohio. There’s the picture to prove it. Still kick myself for not putting on a team jersey, mainly because my baggy shirt makes my 162 pounds look like 210 next to him. I zip tied devil horns from a Viking helmet I bought at a rummage sale to my helmet and the photo at the header of this blog appeared in Cycling News because of it. I peed on trees. Hundreds of tricked out bikes surrounded me all weekend. A buddy spent at least an hour and a half debating his tire choice while Trek’s Jeremiah Bishop and his teammates rode past our cabin for a pre-ride. My team, friends from all around Cincinnati, Louisville and Columbus shared tools, tweaked bikes and drank dark beers till well past sundown. We piled 4 guys into the truck at dawn and drove to the start. A black cat crossed the road in front of us entering Loudonville. I made the road rollout lead group split with the pros. I got a pint glass filled with Sierra Nevada at the finish line. Despite the trough of free food in the lodge, someone had a deep dish Chicago style pizza delivered to the venue. As for the race, like everyone else I spent the day covered in mud in what turned out to be the first sticky hot and humid day of the summer. I overheated between rest stops, slogged up shoe stealing mucky hills, cleaned my bike, took water cooler paper towel baths, nearly dropped out, got encouragement to continue from teammates, felt good for 5 miles, only to repeat the process over and over again for the next eight and a half hours. You could wait and watch the weather radar and make a last minute call on registration on Friday night, but truthfully there's really nothing that can happen between now and Saturday night that'll make the Mohican 100 more or less fun.

Link to confirmed riders of Mohican 100 here.